Back
when Napster was turning the music world upside down in the late 90’s
and the concept of downloadable music was in it’s infancy, major record
labels were frantically trying to jockey for position in a game that
none of them had ever played before. Their initial reaction was to try
to shut down any and all illegal venues of music distribution on the
Internet. Their next step was to create their own online music serves
to distribute content legally over the Internet. Sony Music
Entertainment and Universal Music Group created a service called
“pressplay” and Warner music group, EMI Music and BMG Music with the
assistance of streaming-media company Real Networks formed MusicNet.

The Justice Department launched a probe in mid-2001 to investigate
whether or not the major record labels were stifling competition by
giving their own online ventures preferential licensing terms to the
disadvantage of independent competitors and to find out if the labels
were attempting to thwart the digital distribution of music to protect
their existing CD business.

The findings of the investigation were that pressplay and MusicNet had
established safeguards to prevent executives from sharing confidential
information, and that the licensing terms the labels granted third
parties varied significantly.

During the investigation, the world of online music changed
dramatically as things began to sort themselves out, proving that the
labels were not conspiring to keep competitors from licensing their
copy written material. Apple successfully launched their iTunes online
music store. The current pay per download version of Napster was
resurrected by Roxio using the user base and infrastructure from the
now defunct pressplay. Consumers can also purchase and download songs
legally from sites such as Walmart.com and Buymusic.com with many more
online music stores coming to the marketplace soon.